Tripping Up
by Loads of Randomness
Summary: Side story to the Falling Trilogy, specifically what Tonks and Remus get up to during Valentine's Day of 'Not There To See Me Fall'. They've fallen apart and neither of them are happy about it. Especially on Valentine's Day when all they can think of is each other.
1. Falling Out

**AN: This skips a bit into the future of where I'm currently at in 'Not There To See Me Fall' but I couldn't resist!**

Scowling, Auror Tonks walked swiftly through the streets of Hogshead, not wanting to talk with anyone. At least her patrol was over, so she didn't have to hang about. Knowing that going back to the flat would definitely _not_ improve her mood at all, Tonks turned on her heel and strode down the main street of Hogsmeade. Dawlish didn't do anything to improve her mood at the best of times and today was definitely not a day that she wanted to be needled.

Wanting to avoid Madame Puddifoot's (and anyone entering it), she took the long way around to get to the outskirts of the village. The walk would do her good. Clear her head a bit. Hopefully anyway. At least it was midweek, so there wouldn't be any starry-eyed, lovesick students. That was _one_ good thing about Valentine's Day during the week. Tonks didn't think she'd be able to stick the wide-eyed hopefulness of blossoming romance.

"When did you become such a cynic, Tonks?" she asked herself.

She'd have to witness it on Saturday though. They had been told that it was going to be a Hogsmeade weekend for the students, specifically for Valentine's Day. There was no way Tonks couldn't be around, the four of them had agreed early on for this assignment that it was unfair for two of them to have to deal with students all day while protecting Hogsmeade. So, they all had short patrol shifts so no one got too pissed off basically. Maybe she could take the early one or something. There tended to be not many students during that one. Few woke up that early. Yeah, she'd do that.

Suddenly feeling much more cheerful, Tonks nearly whistled as she approached the point, she wanted to apparate from (it was just bad manners to apparate along the Main Street and she had quite enough of apparating from alleys when she was on the job). _Nearly_ whistled because that was one thing, she couldn't teach herself to do or morph her body in a way that made her capable of doing it. She had tried. A deeper understanding of the human throat was needed for her to do that sort of morphing. Something she hadn't had time for recently. Not that she thought she could do it even if she had spare time, what with her abilities still being on the fritz.

With a 'CRACK' she apparated away, appearing at the back of the Leaky Cauldron. It was a much better way of avoiding attention, she would just look like any other witch doing some shopping in Diagon Alley. Tonks looked down at herself. Once she lost the Auror Robes anyway. A quick tug at them, followed by a flick of her wrist and they were off her body and shrunk down to doll's clothes size and stuffed into the back pocket of her jeans. She'd have to remember that they were there before she put the jeans into the washing machine. Shrinking spells and warm, sudsy water did _not_ work well. Trust her. Especially her Auror Roses for some reason. You'd think they'd be of better quality.

Tonks had never been so glad that the Wizarding World didn't make too big a deal over St Valentine's Day, nothing like the Muggle World anyway. The less she saw of those garish decorations, the better. It was bad enough that they were an eyesore at the best of times, today she wanted to set fire to them. She didn't think Scrimgeour needed that sort of paperwork so she restrained herself. Barely. Which is why she came here. Far less chances of her getting those urges.

Sure, there was the odd cafe in Diagon but they weren't exactly mainstream ones and we're off the beaten track. Very easily avoided if you knew where they were. Which she did and had no intention of going anywhere near. See aforementioned pyromaniac urges.

Unfortunately, she wasn't exactly looking where she was going and stumbled right in the middle of a couple joined quite firmly at the hands. So firmly in fact, that they didn't break apart making all three of them fall to the ground.

"Sorry," Tonks mumbled her apologies, picking herself up as the guy glared at her and the girl sniffed.

Fine. Whatever. She didn't mean to spoil their sappy hand-holding.

Sighing heavily, she changed direction - away from the happy couple. She never used to put much stock in Valentine's Day, there was no point. No boyfriend (or girlfriend she supposed) to share it with and she didn't really go in for ooey gooey mushy stuff like that anyway. You didn't need a while day dedicated to "romance" to remind you to be romantic. It was stupid.

But she _wanted_ that stupid. She was actually _longing_ for it. Another sigh escaped her. One good Valentine's Day, just _one_, and it had completely destroyed her carefully crafted disinterest in this stupid holiday. It hadn't even been a _good_ one, it had been a _brilliant_ one. Remus had managed to completely exceed her expectations and blow her out of the water. She didn't want to know what it said about her expectations when a sweet yet simple date like that made her heart flutter (even a whole year later but she was ignoring it).

She _missed_ him, okay? Really, really missed him. Which was why she was feeling this stupid holiday so much. It was a time that you basically had to spend with your significant other or partner and she wasn't anywhere near hers. She didn't even know where he was. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Tonks glared at a tangled ribbon lying in the street. It wasn't enough that the holiday was being rubbed in her face, now she had to put up with litter too?

Right. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. In and out. In and out. Slow and steady, keep a proper pace. She calmed down some, instinctively glancing at her hair to check out the colour change only to remember. Oh yeah. That didn't happen anymore. Another deep breath. Even she had the self-awareness to realise that this was _maybe_ getting to her a bit more than it should be. A distraction was needed. A good one. Normally, as in before this year (stupid year), her go to method for dealing with feeling like these would be chocolate. Lots of it. But she couldn't do that. Chocolate was _his_ thing. It didn't taste the same anymore if she wasn't stealing it off him anyway. Something else was needed, but what?

Why was the Wizarding World lacking so much in entertainment except for concerts, theatre productions or quidditch? If she was in the Muggle world she could go to the cinema or a park or even around a shopping centre and just waste the day with mind-numbing activities. Not that she was going to do any of those things, as tempting as they were. Going into the Muggle world today was definitely going to turn her sour mood into a thunderous one. Probably one that would make her break the Statute in some way. She would have to think of something in the Wizarding World.

A few minutes passed of nothing coming to mind. She groaned loudly. Why could she think of nothing? This was pathetic. Really pathetic. Tonks kicked a stone, or rather, tried to. Her right foot collided with her right ankle instead of the stupid stone. Instinctively grabbing at the injured appendage, she hopped around, swearing loudly - garnering more than a few glares from some passing fuddy-duddies. Good thing her hands were occupied or they would have got a rude gesture.

Yep, she had been right all along. Valentine' Day _sucked_. It always had and it always will.


	2. Taking a Fall

He had honestly completely lost track of the date. Remus looked in askance around him. If he had remembered what day it was today, he would _not_ have nipped into the Muggle world. It was the wrong day to pick for a break.

All he had wanted was to be by himself or a few hours without someone else looking on him in suspicion. Ok, he had long since given up on pretending to be a nameless face drifting in and out of Packs to see what side of the line they fell on. Every 'task' or 'mission' he'd been on in the past few months had been purely as Albus' man. Not that he had much of a choice, he was back on the UK mainland where his face was far too well known.

"Thanks to Severus and Miss Skeeter," Remus muttered only a bit bitterly.

Yes, he still understood why Severus had done what he had done what he had done, he wasn't bitter over that actually - though Dora, _Tonks_, was bitter enough for both of them. It was Rita Skeeter's article in the aftermath that got to him. It had basically got him blacklisted from possibly working in the Wizarding World again. He shook his head violently and wrapped his threadbare coat tighter around his shoulders. It didn't keep out much of the February chill. He longed for the thick cloak that Nympha-Tonks and Padfo- no, Sirius, had got him the Christmas before last but he refused to bring it on any of these trips, missions, whatever you want to call them. Werewolves didn't have such nice things, could never afford them and even if they briefly could it would soon be sold as soon as money ran out. Heat wasn't as important as food for survival. Also, you never had confidence that your belongings weren't going to be stolen. Especially if you were a drifter, not belonging to any Pack. There wasn't any loyalty, however shallow, in that case. People were just too desperate for that. They needed to eat. Needed to survive. He couldn't have worn it in the muggle world anyway.

But back to why it was the wrong day for him to take a break. It was _Valentine's_ Day. Or, close to it though he suspected that it was the former by all the couples milling about. Any other day of February and the park would have been abandoned, no one liked rambling in the cold, but not today. Today romance ignored physical discomfort as people aspired to have the perfect 'date'.

He eyed the young couple ahead of him. They were dithering, both holding tight to their coats and pressing close together, a picnic basket held between them. Someone had definitely not thought that one through. If it had been him, he would have cast a warming charm around them, or at least on the clothes. Though, he suspected they were muggles so that wasn't exactly an option. Not that a warming charm did anything against this infernal wind chill. Especially when your clothes didn't do much to keep the cold out in the first place.

Nymphadora wasn't exactly a picnic person anyway. He shook his head. Tonks. Her name was _Tonks_. And it didn't matter what type of date she preferred. She wasn't _his_. Or did he not remember that? This day wasn't exactly making that easy.

Another couple were strolling across the grass, completely absorbed in each other. So absorbed, in fact, that they collided with a bench. It didn't seem to faze them, if their laughter was indication. The young man easily jumped up and help his girlfriend to her feet. A very familiar action. He sharply looked away.

Only for his eyes to catch _another_ couple. This pair were kissing. Quite passionately under a tree. Remus felt a bit awkward just witnessing it. He never understood how people could so easily do something like that in public. He could never. Not that he had many experiences to test that theory. Tonks was the type of woman who would do something like that. Had done something like that. But hers had been more of a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing. Kind of like her. Nope. Another head shake. He wasn't supposed to be thinking of her.

He spun on his heels and walked in the opposite direction from the kissing couple. It was getting more heated anyhow, if where each of their hands were placed were anything to go by. His time he kept his eyes firmly in the ground. This way he wouldn't mistakenly see any more couples. He was going to leave the park as well. That would help.

Unfortunately, something Remus failed to take into account was if you kept your eyes on the ground instead of up, you couldn't exactly see where you were going. And if you couldn't see where you were going-

"Ouch."

"Hey!"

'Splash'

Brown liquid splashed across the ground on his trouser leg. It was hot.

"Oh, my word, I am _so_ sorry!" Remus apologised.

There was one of those take-away coffee cup things on the ground, its contents everywhere, its owner looking down at it in dismay. It was a man and beside him was who Remus assumed was his girlfriend who wasn't looking too impressed. Remus wouldn't be either, if it were him, it smelled like it had been hot chocolate.

"I am so, so, sorry," Remus repeated.

"It's fine," the man said, not sounding annoyed at all.

"You should look where you're going," the girl snapped.

"Hey, it wasn't on purpose," the man said, pulling at her jacket.

"I'll buy you another," Remus said, rummaging in his pockets and praying he had some muggle currency on him.

The man stopped him, "Nah, it's fine. I was basically done."

"You sure?" It was a lie and Remus knew it.

"Yeah, no hard feelings."

With that, the man clapped him on the shoulders and continued down the path.

"Jenny!" he called to the woman.

She gave him a sneering look up and down before making an annoyed noise and flouncing over to her boyfriend, hooking her elbow with his.

"Honestly, I see why he's alone on Valentine's Day," Remus heard as the two of them walked off.

Remus sighed and looked longingly after them. Couples. A pang shot through his heart. Pairs. Two parts to a whole. No. That was ridiculous. You were whole whether you had a partner or not. You didn't _need_ another person to be complete. He was doing just fine. He was dependant on _nobody_. It was better this way. For everyone. Yep. Didn't need anyone.

He reached the gates of the park and looked behind him, unable to stop himself from taking everyone in.

Then how come it was so difficult?


End file.
